Three new associations launched last week in Birmingham and Gateshead. The Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) held its inaugural conference at the Council House, Birmingham, with 200 delegates and a keynote address by Dame Jane Roberts, ex-chair of the Councillors' Commission. The association, whose members run services for elected members, is also sponsoring a category in The MJ Awards (see page 3). Birmingham also saw the launch of the UK District Energy Association, whose members will include private and public sector organisations. In Gateshead, a new regional partnership between councils, the wider public sector and universities, the Institute for Local Governance, was launched by Gateshead MBC leader, Cllr Mick Henry, who also chairs the Association of North East Councils. The network is a pioneering research and knowledge exchange in which universities will help provide their research expertise to the public sector. Among the speakers to address the launch was deputy North East regions minister, Roberta Blackman Woods, and The MJ's editor, Michael Burton.
